1. Relevant Field
The present disclosure relates to monitoring, regulating, or controlling fluid flow. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system, method, and apparatus for monitoring, regulating, or controlling fluid flow, for example, for use in medical applications such as intravenous infusion therapy, dialysis, transfusion therapy, peritoneal infusion therapy, bolus delivery, enteral nutrition therapy, parenteral nutrition therapy, hemoperfusion therapy, fluid resuscitation therapy, or insulin delivery, among others.
2. Description of Related Art
In many medical settings, one common mode of medical treatment involves delivering fluids into a patient, such as a human, animal, or pet. The need may arise to rapidly infuse fluid into the patient, accurately infuse the fluid into the patient, and/or slowly infuse the fluid into the patient. Saline and lactated ringers are examples of commonly used fluids. Such fluids may be used to maintain or elevate blood pressure and promote adequate perfusion. In the shock-trauma setting or in septic shock, fluid resuscitation is often a first-line therapy to maintain or improve blood pressure.
Delivery of fluid into the patient may be facilitated by use of a gravity-fed line (or tube) inserted into the patient. Typically, a fluid reservoir (e.g., an IV bag) is hung on a pole and is connected to the fluid tube. The fluid tube is sometimes coupled to a drip chamber for trapping air and estimating fluid flow. Below the fluid tube may be a manually actuated valve used to adjust the flow of fluid. For example, by counting the number of drops formed in the drip chamber within a certain amount of time, a caregiver can calculate the rate of fluid that flows through the drip chamber and adjust the valve (if needed) to achieve a desired flow rate.
Certain treatments require that the fluid delivery system strictly adhere to the flow rate set by the caregiver. Typically, such applications use an infusion pump, but such pumps may not be used in all situations or environments.